Thermo-Hydraulic Behavior of Rotary Annular Flows: The Role of Inner Cylinder Notch Profiles
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21836724Keywords:
Flow in rotating cylinder, Heat transfer enhancement, Wall optimization, Notch geometry, CFD, Taylor vortexAbstract
This study numerically investigates the fluid dynamics behavior of flow between two concentric cylinders using ANSYS Fluent. While the outer cylinder remains stationary, the inner cylinder rotates at angular velocities of 40, 60, and 80 rad/s. Water fills the annular gap, and four distinct surface profiles (flat, semicircular, triangular, and rectangular) are integrated into the inner surface of the inner cylinder to evaluate their thermal and hydrodynamic performance. The inlet velocity is maintained at 0.1 m/s, alongside constant turbulence intensity and viscosity ratio. The numerical results indicate that notched surfaces significantly enhance heat transfer compared to smooth alternatives. As the inlet velocity increases, the average velocity decreases across all configurations, with the flat surface exhibiting the most prominent reduction. Conversely, the pressure drop rises with higher inlet velocities, peaking in the triangular notch profile. The temperature difference (ΔT) decreases with increasing inlet velocity across all profiles; the triangular notch yields the highest thermal difference, whereas the flat surface generates the lowest. Although the rectangular notch provides a substantial temperature drop, it induces elevated pressure differentials, thereby increasing pump power requirements. Ultimately, this research highlights the critical role of surface modifications in optimizing the balance between heat transfer enhancement and hydraulic losses in rotary cylindrical flows.
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